Arcadia Public Library

Ghost. Lu. Patina. Sunny. Four kids from wildly different backgrounds with personalities that are explosive when they clash. But they are also four kids chosen for an elite middle school track team -- a team that could qualify them for the Junior Olympics if they can get their acts together. They all have a lot to lose, but they also have a lot to prove, not only to each other, but to themselves. Ghost has a crazy natural talent, but no formal training....

Explore the history of silk and its connection to the principles of tai chi. Learn exercises to develop the motions of silk reeling and silk pulling, which are advanced techniques hidden within many form movements. Feel this smoothness and connection as you continue with the form with turn body and kick with heel and needle at the bottom of the sea.

Add the last movements of the form: shoot the tiger, sealing and closing, cross hands, and closing form. Go through the entire 40-movement form, feeling the flow. Ponder the significance of your journey to tai chi mastery, and consider the next steps on your path-because studying the art of tai chi chuan yields rewards for a lifetime.

Movements in tai chi are graceful, balanced, and unhurried, and this is accomplished through mindful awareness of your body, thoughts, and emotions. Mindfulness is an essential element of tai chi and a vital tool for a harmonious life. Use this awareness as you learn the next two movements of the form: single whip and step up and raise hands.

Although humble, pawns are the most complex pieces on the chessboard. Meanwhile, the leaping knights are perhaps the strangest pieces. Learn how these two pieces move and what strategies to employ with them to control the board. Look at a few situations that test what you’ve learned..

Discover the history, philosophy, and importance of tea in tai chi. As you savor this knowledge, contemplate the next tai chi principle: connecting upper with lower. The upper body moves in coordination with the lower body, and the energy at the top of the head is connected to the energy at the bottoms of the feet. Maintain this connection through the form movements of this ancient art.

Tai chi is both moving meditation and movable meditation-you can perform the form anywhere, and you carry the mental aspects with you in every situation. This exemplifies the principle of tranquility within movement, and movement within tranquility. Continue your study of the form with turn and pat the foot and ride the tiger.

Listen to the tale of the wandering monk and the two temple brothers, contemplate the Laughing Buddha, and gain an appreciation of the importance of not taking life too seriously. The Wu way of non-striving allows you to let go of control, tension, and expectation. Keep this playful attitude as you step back to ride the tiger and turn body and lotus kick.

These 24 half-hour lessons, taught by an International Master Tai Chi Instructor, take you deeply into the practice, focusing on a routine known as the Yang-style 40-movement form. Known as moving meditation, tai chi is part exercise, part relaxation and is accessible to everyone, regardless of age of the current level of physical fitness.